



c3 









BEN ISRAEL; 






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OR, 






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mSit. 



A JEV^TISH PLAY, 



In Five Acts, 



BY EDWARD W. TULLIDGE, 



AUTHOR OF 



The Plaij of ''Oliver CroniweU,^' ''Lives of Famous Historical 
Character Sj'^ etc., etc. 



JOHN C. GRAHAM, PRINTER, 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. 



1875. 



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?T^^^ 



^QZ^^J^^u 



BEN ISRAEL; 



OR, 



FROIVI UNDER THE CURSE. 

IN FIVE ACTS, 

BY EDWARD W. TULLIDGE, 

AUTHOR OF 

'Th' PUuj of "Oliver CromweUy^' "Lives of Famous Historical 
Character Sj'''' etc., etc. 



JOHN C. GEABAM, PRINTER, 

SALT LAK E C ITY, UTAH. 
1875. 






TS^ 



iiiitered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1875, br 
EDWARD -W, TULLIDGE, 

ia the Office of the Librarian of Cougi-ess, at Washington, 



TMP96-006736 



REFACE AND JJEDICATION, 



r=C?^-^ 




TO THE JEWS OF AMERICA: 



OUK theme and race, my Hebrew brethren, constitute the grandest 
of the world, and it is time that we Gentiles do you justice, for the 
nations owe to your people the crown of civilizations. -To Egypt and 
Greece the world is certainly indebted, but to the Hebrew people, and 
the divine splendor of their subject, it owes at once the substantial basis of our 
present civilization and the very soul that breathes in it. Indeed, the sacred liter- 
ature and exalted examples jf your forefathers have very much formed the 
characters of modern nations. I am inclined to believe that they are indebted 
more to the Hebrews for their present types, than to their race origins, which give 
to them, in our own time, little more than their variations from each other, and 
the character ardor or coldness of physical temperament. The Temples of their 
civilization are yours. The temples of their own race-patriarchs were demol- 
ished before their historic periods commenced. Yours alone stand imperishable 
through the ages, grander monuments to-day evnn than when your ancestors 
were its master builders and High Priests. 

The impress of the Hebrew upon modern nations (I speak of course of Europe 
and America,) has been best illustrated in the history of England, not only in its 
religion, its law and its literature, but also in its revolutions. I have only to 
instance the revolution of the Commonwealth, when the soul and examples of your 
sires inspired not only the British Parliament, but also created an army such as 
the world never before saw, nor has seen since, who fought in the name of the 
God of Israel and held a world in awe. Indeed, so strongly did those mighty 
men type themselves with your types, that Sir Harry Vane, the leader of the 
British Parliament, was styled the Seer of the Commonwealth, and Cromwell the 



iv. PREFACE. 

Captain of the Lord's Host, while the genius of the divine John Milton rose 
almost to the sublime harmony of David, your king. Nor was that grand 
national earnestness, so characteristic of your race, lost by England in that 
famous constitutional revolution that followed under the Protestant hero, 
William, Prince of Orange, during whose reign your people were firmly established 
in that land. 



And if we go to the genius of music for examples, (and music, next to pro- 
phecy, is the Hebrew's poetic gift,) then have we not only our Mendelssohns and 
Meyerbeers from yourselves, but Handel is also made immortal by your themes. 
For, let it be observed, that though the Messiah is his subject, it is, after all, the 
Jew's Messiah that he treats. Isaiah, not St. Luke or St. Peter, originates most of 
Handel's themes. Nor is this said to dishonor the great Christian Teacher, fur 
lie most exalted and honored his Jewish origin, both in his claims as the king of 
the Jews and his love for Israel. 

Yet have we Gentile Christians, who have taken so much from the Hebrews 
without gratitude, made the very national fidelity of your people their curse, and 
in the ages past treated them as the very dogs, instead of the princes of the human 
race. And, as an author, I am ashamed to say that our class has been but little 
better than the bigot and the priest. Even our gloi.ous Shakespeare, dealing with 
the Jew, has created for us a Shylock. Dramatically it was worthy his genius, 
but justly unworthy his matchless mind. Shylock has certainly Jewish idiosyn- 
crasies, but he has little in him of Hebraic subject. Think of Abraham, 
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, not touching so high in the 
Christians' mind as their own divine Teacher — then think of Shylock. Or, if 
you choose our own times, think of Moses Mendelssohn, Nathan Eothschild, and 
Benjamin D'Israeli. True, Shakespeare wrote in a day when he dared not create a 
more acceptable Jew than Shylock. 

As for the Fagin of Charles Dickens, though it is the draiaaatic "hit" of the 
book of Oliver Twist, the author seems to me to have committed a cardinal sin 
against a race. To supplement a Fagin to a Sh3^1ock in this generous, universalian 
age, was unwoithy so catholic an author. Shylock has an earnestness and a 
passion which, on occasions, reaches so near grandeur that the Jew was still a 
great tj'pe in tl^e public mind, but Fagin is the wickedness and meanness of a race 
"boiled down" into an everyday character, so well done, it must be confessed, that 
the ignorant take him as the model type of the modern Jew. 



PREFACE. V. 

Tlio aim? of mj- own \)\ay Ben Israel shall liiu)M-lf i-eprosent, supported l^v liis 
.^-randdaaghter, Rachel. 

Permit me, without more words, to dedicate to you, liebiews of America, a 
pla3' to commemorate tlie return, after four hundred years' banishment, of your 
people to England, in the reign of Charles II. 

Eespectfilly, 

EDWARD AV. TULLIDGE. 
Salt Lake Citv, 

April 24tii, 1875. 



CAST OF CHARACTERS: 



DAVID BEN ISKAEL, a Jewish Prince, descended from the "Princes of the 
Captivity." 

JUDAH, his nephew, agent of the Prince of Orange. 

LEVI, a trusted^servant of Ben Israel. 

SIR WALTEPv TEMPLAR, lover of Rachel. 

CHARLES II. 

LORD HAWKLE Y, a malignant plotter against the Jews. 

GABRIEL, servant-companion of Sir Walter, who retains his rustic simplicities. 

RACHEL, granddaughter of Ben Israel. 

ANNETTI, her foster-sister. 

MEG, godmother of Lord Hawkley, and a hater of the Jews. 

REBECCA, wife of Levi. 

AUXILIARIES. 

Hebrew People, Templar Men, Bishops, Rabbis, Chief Justice, Governor of 
Prison, Chaplain, etc. 



Time '.—Reign of Charles 11. Place -.-—Londotu 



BEN ISRAEL; 

OK, 

FROM UNDER THE CURSE 

ACT I. 

Scene I. Magnificent mansion and gardens of Rachel the singer^ 
in the suburbs of London, Bowers around, from one of which 
come forth court gallants, goblets in hand, led by Charles II. 

Charles. Gad's death! 'Tis time we pledge 
The houri of this paradise. So to the Star of Judah! 

GalLxYnts. {all excepting Hawkley) The Star of Judah! 

Hawkley. The Devil take the Jews ! 

Judah. [entering as mentor of the King and agent from Holland) 
Amen, my lord. The Devil will take care of them. 

Chas. Ah, sir mentor, just from Holland? Good. 'Tis not 
before we needed thee. 

JuD. From Holland, sire, envoy from the States General and 
servant of your majesty's rare nephew, William, Prince of Orange. 

Chas. Ah! How is the young Dutch hero? Gad's death! 
There's that about the rogue we like, though he hath urged the 
States to war with England. 

JuD. That is because your Majesty, urged by your brother 
James, takes up the cause of France against your Protestant allies, 
the Dutch. 

Chas. The boy is mad and stands in his own light. 
AVhy sides he not with Louis and with me. 
Who'll re-instate his house? We need the help 
Of France, but most the gold of Louis, {is joined by Lord Haicldcy) 
What say you to that, my lord of Hawkley ? 



8 BEN ISRAEL. [Act 1, 

Hawk. To wliat, j^our majesty ? 

Chas. Do not our ministers need Louis' gold ? 

Hawk. Not more than does their king. 

JuD. Then borrow of the Jews, your majesty, 
And do not England's honor sell to France, 
Nor England pawn unto the Papal power. 

Hawk. Keep guard upon thy tongue. 'Twas thou who didst 
Persuade his Majesty to hive the Jews 
In England after we were quit of them 
Four hundred years. 

JuD. The bees make honey for the land; 
I own I did advise his majesty to hive them here. 

Hawk. Now may the devil take the Jews, say I. 

JuD. You said it but a while ago, my lord. 
Perhaps your lordship) hath forgot 
The proverb, that the fiend cares for his own. 

Chas. A truce to this banter. We are here to hail the queen 
of song at her own court. Join with your prince, gallants. Hail 
to the Star of Judah — Kachel, the enchantress! {Exit into mansion.) 

Courtiers acclaim tvith the king and follow him into the mansion of 
the Jewess, excepting Hawkley, who directs his curse at the 
house. 

Hawk. Curse thee, thou subtle agent of this Orange Prince, 
And curse the Jews, whom Rome hath more to fear 
Than from the heretics about the throne. 
And curse thee, too, thou royal fool! Would that 
Thy brother James now- reigned in England. 

Enter, cautiously looking around^ Meo, a Papist and godmother of 
Lord Hawkley. 

Meg. Hist, my son. 'Tis thy old god-dame. 

Hawk. Ha! Mother Meg! Returned? What say the Holy 
Fathers? 

Meg, Of that anon. I choked with rage to hear the king drink 
to this Jewish witch, and then to hear the courtiers shout as if they 
were about to crown a queen. 

Hawk. You heard the king, then, Meg? 

Meg. Ay! That did I. A legion fiends possess 
The fool, I say, for harboring the Jews. 

Hawk. Ben Israel has my castle and estates 
Under his bonds well nigh to their full worth. 

Meg. Thou shouldst have borrowed of the devil first. 
Hawk. Or taken subsidies from France. 



Act 1.] BEN ISEAEL. 9 

Meg. Aha! But I will help thee out. I've sent 
The rumor round that Charles is 'witched to love 
The Jewess. 

Hawk. Then may the rumor poison every breeze. 

Meg. And that she hath dark dealings with the Evil One. 

Hawk. Thou art as deep as he in plotting, Meg. 

Meg. Aha! Old Meg will work their ruin yet. 
The holy fathers of the Jesuits will be with us. 

Hawk. What said their chief ? 

Meg. Caution, my son, there may be prying ears about. 

Hawk. Yes, Yes. We must be guarded in our tongues. 

Meg. Give thy old mother wine. I'm parched with rage, 
And faint with my long journeying. 

Hawk. {Fetching goblet from bower) Here, mother Meg, is the 
untasted wine 
I would not to the Jewess drink. 

Meg. But I will drink to her. May old Meg's hand 
Pile fagots high around the Jewess for a witch. {Drinks and 

throws goblet away.) - i 

Now come away with me. 
And hearken what the holy fathers said. {Exeunt r 2 e.) 

Enter David Ben Israel l. 1 e., watching them off, in his char- 
acter of peddler of the court. 

Da\td. {Returning to c.) Then is there danger brewing for our 
race 
E'en in this goodly land, where I had thought 
Our people, worn with ages of their wanderings 
Would find rest for their feet. Cromwell the Great 
Had given us both welcome and enfranchisement, 
But he did live before his time. The needs 
Of Charles for moneys serve us better now 
Than did a great man's tolerance and aims 
For justice to our persecuted people. 
King Charles' passion for this Hebrew maid 
Hath served us too. But from his princely lust 
Ben Israel's hand must save the child. 
And yet there's danger brewing 'gainst our tribe ! 
If once the Jesuits obtain the sway 
In England, then I fear me much the Jew 
Will have to leave these shores again 
And quit the pastures of this thrifty land. 
The king comes forth. I'll watch and keep mine ears 
As open doors. {Exit l. 1 e.) 



10 BEN ISKAEL. [Act 1. 

Enter Charles loith Eachel /ro?>i Mansion, to walk in gardens, fol- 
lowed by train of ladies and gentUinen who disperse over the 
grounds. King comes to c. ivith Rachel. 

Chas. Nay, by our royal word, the sun shone not 
To-day till thy bright face broke through the clouds. 

Rachel: Fie, fie, your majesty! I have no taste 
For dulcet nothings, even from a king. 

Chas. Maid, by my kingly honor, I would deck 
Thy fair brow with a duchess' coronet, 
To hear thee say thou hadst no taste to list 
To them from other lips than mine. 

Each. O, Sire, I am but a simple maid, — 
An orphan child of a despised tribe, 
Who does not e'en her parents know, — 
And not a lady of your brilliant court. 

Chas. Smile but upon my suit, and there shall reign 
None at my court to match my Hebrew love. 

Each. Eachel, the singer — never more shall I be there. 

Chas. Yes, Eachel with an angel's voice. Eachel, 
Who shall be queen of a king's heart, and^if 
She wish it so, never shall ear but his 
List to the notes of her enchanting voice. 

Each. Forbear! or I at once retire. 

Chas. Nay, pardon, lady-love. At least you'll grant 
Permission to Charles Stuart, gentleman, 
To walk with you this morn. 

Each. In his jDlain character of gentleman. 

Chas. It is a bargain, sweetheart. 

Each. Then will I in to my own doors, if thus 
The gentleman his promise breaks in maldng it. 

Chas. I'll not offend again to-day. (Exeunt l. u. e.) 

Enter Sir Walter Templar, r. u. e., roith Judah. 

Sir W. I would I had not brought her to the court 
Of Charles. This homage to her genius, which 
In Italy I dreamt of with such pride. 
Now startles me. The wanton eye of Charles 
Is kindled to a blaze when she appears. 

JuD. Does the king know you yet ? 

Sir W. Yes, that it was 
Sir Walter Templar who did educate 
The Jewess and engage her for his court. 

JuD. But knows not that you are the man ? 



Act 1.1 BEN ISRxVEL. . H 

Sir W. No, lie but thinks me one whom he permits 
At court to ^ive her musical support. 

JuD. I think, Sir Walter, they did say at Eome 
You had a voice the world could not surpass. 

Sir W. They did. 

JuD. I see. And you assisted hereto write 
This Jewish opera ? 

Sir W. I did. It is my family legend, sir. 
That Lionel, the founder of my house, 
Grand Master of the Templar knights, in Palestine 
Did love and wed a maid of Judah's royal blood. 

JuD. Thou art her offspring ? 

Sir W. I am. 

JuD. 'Tis strange! 

Sir W. What is strange? 

JuD. Nothing. Nay, everything. It is all mystery, 
This complex drama of our mortal life, 
Which we but poorly read at best. 

Sir W. What mean you ? 

JuD. I know the untold history of the maid. 

Sir W. What, my ancestress ? 

JuD. No, thy love. Yet had she been that same princess 
Who wedded Lionel, the Christian knight, 
She scarce had been more than she is. 

Sir W. You speak in riddles. 

JuD. I much do err if she be not the lost 
Grandchild of David Ben Israel. 

Sir W. What, the Jewish prince, of whom 'tis said 
He is the last of all his line? 

JuD. The same. 

Sir W. Great heaven ! Then do the guardian angels of the past 
Bring down their links to weld anew in us. 

JuD. Ah, there you strike a mystery 
I have not yet quite read. 
But we must look well to the king. 

Sir W. I will not cross the king unless the king 
Would wrong my mate. And then let king beware! (Exeunt r. 2 e.) 

Enter Gabriel, l. 1 e. 

Gab. Yes, I'll plague the Jew. T will be a right proper Chris- 
tian pastime. My patron Gabriel will scratch a mark of good 
behavior in his book if I plague the Jew. Why, what are the Jews 



12 BEN ISEAEL. [Act. 1. 

sent into the world for except for Cliristian pastime ? Now, if I 
plague the Jew, the fiend won't plague me with cramps and night- 
mares; nor will witches ride me through the air on broomsticks. 
Yes, I'll plague the Jew and be saved for it. 

Return Old Meg, b. 2 e. 

Meg. (Seizing Jiijii by the arm) Then come with me and I'll help 
thee plague the Jew. 

Gab. O Lord! O Saints! O Mrs. Belzebub, have mercy and I'll 
X^lague the Jew. 

Meg. Come with me and I'll teach thee how to plague the Jew. 

G-AB Grace, Mrs. Fiend! Grace, good Fiend! Let me off, 
beautiful Fiend, and I'll plague the Jew. 

Meg. Come with me, fool. 

Gab. Help ! help ! The foul fiend is going to run away with me. 
Help! help! {He is dragged off by Meg, r. 1 e.) 

Annetti runs in, l. 1 e. 

Annetti. Gabriel! Gabriel! Where has the simpleton gone? 
Something has frightened him out of the little wits he has. But 
where has he hid himself ? Now he would thrash half a dozen lusty 
rogues, but name a ghost, a goblin or a witch to him and all his 
wits will forsake him. and his courage melt into his heels. 

Gabriel rushes in, blind with affright. 

Gab. Help ! help ! The foul Fiend is flying away with me. Help ! 
help! {Is caught by Annetti as he is running off\ when he falls upon 
his knee-'i) Mercy, mercy, good Mrs. Fiend! Mercy, mercy, Mrs. 
Belzebub, and I'll plague the Jew; I'll drown the Jew; I'll do 
anything to the Jew! 

Ann. Get up, you simpleton. Do I look like Mrs. Fiend or 
Mrs. Belzebub ? Take that box on the ear, you fool. Do you know 
that ? 

Gab. Eh ? Is that you, Annetti ? I used to know that signal 
before the Fiend ran awa}^ with me. You're sure you're not the 
Fiend turned into my Annetti. 

Ann. Come into the house. I have some bottled spirits in my 
room that will not scare you. {Exit into the house of the Jewess.) 

Return King with Rachel, l. u. e. 

Chas. (c.) In vain, Rachel, I cannot hold my peace. 
This passion will consume me if it find not vent. 

Rack, Oh ]:)ersecute me not, I do entreat. 
This suit dishonors you, — outrages me. 



Act L] ben ISEAEL. 13 

Chas. Listen a moment, Eachel, to my love. 
In Holland first we met. I heard you sing, 
And loved you when a fugitive. Had I 
Not been an exiled prince, I had not left 
The story of that love to tell to-day. 

Each. Sire, forbear. What can the Jewess be 
To England's king? 

Chas. Queen of his heart! For your dear sake, the Jews 
I have invited to these shores against 
The wish of zealots of each rival church, 
And granted them protection of the crown. 
To tell you tliis I sent to Italy 
And bade my agents bring you here to sing 
At court. Smile, Rachel, on my love, 
And I swear to you that the Jews 
Shall have in England their enfranchisement. 

Rach. Profane not thus the sacred name of love ! 
Thou knowest not what love doth signify, 
And knowest not the maid thou wooest thus 
Witli wicked tongue. 

Chas. By heaven, I speak the truth. I loved thee then, 
Yet dreamed not of this wondrous change, (kneels) Rachel, 
Thou wast born to be the consort of a king. 

Each. King of England, — orphaned at her birth. 
Alone, — without one of her parent's kin 
To own or guard her, the poor Jewess is 
So much above thy crowned head that she 
Commands thee, rise! Nor longer thus 
With wanton homage humble her. 

Chas. Thy words have stung me to my feet and made 
The king remember who he is and who 
The singer Rachel is. Ah ! she is but 
The outcast Jewess still, — is in our realm, 
A subject of the king, in the king's power. 

Rach. Then, king, will I invoke the aid of one 
Who will protect me from thy lawless hands! 

Chas. Sir Walter Templar hath proclaimed himself. 
Each. Ah! 

Chas. You saw him speak to me but now? 

Each. Yes, yes. (aside.) Then have I cause to fear this king. 

Chas. Sir AValter hath defied me, — threatened me. 

Each. Oh! Would I were hence. 

Chas, You see, Eachel, how much I heed him. 



14 BEN ISEAEL. [Act. 1. 

Each. Eemember, king, lie is the son of him 
Who moved all England 'gainst thy father's tyrannies. 
As he would move it 'gainst thyself did harm 
But come to me. 

Chas. Now mark me, Eachel: if it needs must be 
I will remove Sir Walter from my path 
By banishment and find the cause for it. 
Yet do I think the path is clear. 
He has return'd unto his native land 
To wed his cousin. So, my queenly maid, 
Better the consort of a married king 
Than mistress of a wedded baronet. 

Each. God of my Fathers, who shall shield 
The orphan Jewess now? 

Enter David, jDlth solemn dignity. 

Dav. He to whom thou hast appeal' d, my child, 
The God of thy Fathers shall shield and succor thee! {EarJiel 
rushes to the old man for protection. He throws his arm around her 
and awes back the king.) 

Chas. Old man, hast thou been spying on my track? 

Each. Save me! (Jh, save me from the king! 

Chas. What is this maid to thee, that 'bout thy neck 
She clings? And who art thou, that in thy rags 
Thus dar'st to wave me back as if thou wert 
Thyself a king and she thy ward ? 

Dav. What is this maid to me ? An orphan of my race, 
Therefore the old man's daughter, though he be 
The least of all his tribe. And who am I 
Whose rags can awe a king ? A poor old man; 
But virtue clothed in rags hath native majesty 
That vice hath not tho' deck'd in purple robes, 
Its head encircled with a kingly crown! 

Chas. Begone, old man. 

Dav. Nay, not till I have answer'd thee. Thou saidst 
This maid is but the outcast Jewess still. 
So have her people been outcast 
These sixteen centuries. And yet hath He, 
To whom this child in her defenceless loneliness 
Appeal'd, protected and preserved them to this hour — 
Greater to-day than when their princes reign'd 

As kings in Palestine. Thou toldst this maid , 

That for the hope of smiles upon thy wicked suit. 
Thou hadst permitted us, after long banishment. 
To settle in this land. If this be so 
The humblest of his tribe will answer thee : 



Act 1.] BEN ISKAEL. 15 

Then, King of England, take thy favors back, — 

Withhold from us enfranchisement until 

The day of doom. Eather than that our sons 

Should cease to trust in Israel's God, — 

Our daughters' chastity be given up 

To Gentile lust, as X3urchase of the freeman's rights. 

The Jews shall quit these shores again. 

Their substance to the spoiler's greed devote, 

And pitch their tents in some far distant land. 

Where still fidelity may be our sons' 

Fair heritage, and purity our daughters' dower. 

Enter Hawkley and courtiers gathered by the impassioned voice of 
David, Sir Walter Templar an^Z Judah icitli them. Hawk- 
ley taking in the situation at a glance, raises a cry against the 
Jews. 

Hawk. Quick ! The king's in danger ! The .king is set ujion 
By Jews. I saw a band of them but now 
Prowling about. They fled as I came up. 
Are you hurt, Sire ? 

Dav. Fear nothing for your king, 
He has but been rebuked by this loae maid 
And been confronted by a weak old man. 

Sir W. Come, Rachel, we will London leave at once; 
You shall not breathe the pestilential air 
Of Charles' court. 

Chas. Beware, Sir Walter, how you cross my path! 

Sir W. Beware, sir King, and do not cross my love ! 

Sir Walter is leaving icith Rachel ichen David intercepts 
them. 

Dav. Stay, daughter of my people ! 
I know of one whose claim to guard thee stands 
The first: I mean thy grandsire. 

Rach. My grandfather ! Oh, where is he? 

Hawk. Let us begone, your Majesty. 
We have no interest with this vagabond. 
Let Rachel entertain her tribe, but we 
Consort not with the Jewish herd. 

Dav. Christian scofier! 
Our race were princes when thy ancestors 
Were robbers and barbarians! 



16 BEN ISKAEL. [Act 1. 

Hawk. Out of my way, dog of a Jew! {He whirls him and 
David falls.) 

So do I trample on tliy Jewish gabardine, 

Thou vagabond of an accursed tribe! (Walter and Judah at- 
tempt to interpose, but Rachel bounds to David.) 

Each. Nay! Let a Hebrew woman, sirs, chastise 
This lordly ruffian. 

Hawk. Ruffian? 

Rack. Ay, ruffian! The conduct of thy king 

I fain had hid. But thou hast outraged all 

My Jewish blood, my people call'd a herd, 

This old man trampled 'neath thy haughty feet. 

Proud lord, the history of my antique race 

Stands out the grandest theme 

Of all the ages past and shall be theme 

Of all the ages yet to come. "Accursed?" 

Yet to the Christian gave they oracles! 

How hath he paid his debt of gratitude ? 

Why, meanly taken advantage of their fall, 

Scourged them from land to land, despoiled them of their gold 

And trampled on them as thou did'st this good old man. 

But Judah shall come from under the curse 

As gold from the refiner's fire. He shall 

Ttedeem himself, asking not Gentile grace. 

We've kissed the rod, but henceforth if ye smite, 

Ye shall pay interest back for every blow. 

And crawd at Judah's feet to beg his helping hand. 

These grounds are mine, this instant leave 

Or I will have thee driven hence as thou 

Hadst fain this son of Israel. 

Go, unworthy king! Ruffian courtier, go! 

Bear with ye both a Hebrew woman's scorn! {Picture.) 

END OF ACT I. 



Act 2.] BEN ISRAEL. 17 

ACT 11. 

Scene I. — The Kinrfs Closet. Charles Discovered. 

Chas. 'S death! Her exalted virtue provokes me to the con- 
quest. There is a sublime earnestness about the Jewish character 
that forces one's admiration. These Jews are not understood. By 
my soul, were Rachel my queen instead of Cathaiine, I think I 
should become a virtuous dog myself. (I>/iocJ{ at door) Come in. 
{enter Judah) So, 'tis you Judah ? Have you discovered who the 
Jewess is, and who this old peddler ? 

JuD. Not quite. 

Chas. Your mysterious hint that she [is other than she seems 
has piqued my curiosity. 

JuD. To-night your majesty shall know all. In the meantime 
suppose we take up your afiairs with Louis of France. You 
need money, Sire. 

Chas. Ah! there thou hit'st me on my sorest place. I must have 
money to be independent of my Parliament, and so, to choose the 
least of the bondages, I have taken Louis as my banker. 

JuD. It was not well done. Sire, for, if you mind not, the choice 
may cost a kingdom. But I have brought you one who shall re- 
lieve you from your bondage on better terms. 

Judah goes to door and admits David. 

Chas. How now ! The peddler of the court ? 
Old man, begone! or I will have thee scourged 
Through London streets midst hootings of the mob. 

Dav. Your majesty, men often from their door 
With senseless foot their providences spurn : 
Thy dearest fate shall come patch'd and well-worn. 
If thou but know'st thy fate 'tis well : she shall 
'Bide with thee. Bid her but begone, and she — 
The angel of thy fortune — shall return no more. 
Shall she hence. Sire, or stay? Thy fortune comes 
To-day beneath my well-worn gabardine. 

Chas. How^ canst thou help, old man, a kingdom's needs ? 
Wert thou Ben Israel whose matchless wealth 
Is as the treasures of the Ind, thou might'st. 
Thou'rt but a wandering knave. 

Dav. Yet hath my master David sent me to the king 
To ofier loans great as thy kingdoms needs 
Spurn, Sire, the dog, and thou hast spurn'd the one 
Who sent him. Wilt thou take my master's bond ? 



18 BEN ISEAEL. [Act. 2. 

Chas. In London none hath seen this Jewish prince. 
Why keejDS he up this mystery ? 

Dav. It fits his mood. Wilt take his bond, I say ? 

Chas. Art sure Ben Israel will honor it? 

JuD. That will I answer for. 

Chas. What are his terms, old man? 

Day. Protection to the Herew maid against the king. 

Chas. By Heaven she's worthy to be queen. 

Dav. Ay, queen; but not, sire, worthy to be that 
Thy love would make of her. 

Chas. Well, well, old man, what further terms? 

Dav. That our long suffering people be allow'd 
To home in England and in England trade, 
Protected by the Crown, 

And granted but the welcome countenance , 

You'd give unto the meanest Christian stranger. 
If yet in time to come, when England shall have proof 
Of Judah's loyalty, our people be to her 
What the life-vessels are to man, 
Then let the future give unto the Jew 
Enfranchisement. Till then we ask 
But for the alien's common rights. 

Chas. What, the Jew to England as her life*s blood? 

Dav. This shall the Jew become ! 
Say, Sire, how stands it now with thee? Thy realm 
Is pawn'd to Louis — thyself a vassal king; 
Thy fleets are crippled on the sea; the Dutch « 

Again hold empire there. Yea worse. 
Thy people murmur and with their reproach 
Are deep-mouth'd threats heard rumbling through the land 
As distant thunders on the coming storm. 
Yet still thou goest to the master king 
Who holds the purse, and takes for England^ s shame 
These subsidies, and in return give aid 
To France 'gainst England's nearest kin. 
What Louis loans for England's shame shall be 
By David loan'd for her good honor. Take 
My master's bond and henceforth she shall lend 
And shall not borrow. Here the Jew shall find 
His destiny and through him England hers, 
And greatness reach beyond all precedent. 
The time is coming when my antique race 
Shall throw the wanderer's rags away 
And Judah rise, as Phoenix, from its dust, 



Act 2.] BEN ISRAEL. 19 

Here — here in England will he find his fate. 
— Your pardon, sire, I did but dream. 
Wilt take my master's bond ? 

Chas. (airefJ) Old man, I could have sworn I saw beneath 
That ragged gabardine an oraclo 
Of that grand race which gave, as Rachel said, 
The Christian that of which he loudest boasts. 

Dav. Wilt take my master's bond ? 

Chas. I will! 

Dav. Then meet my master David at his house 
To-night, and thou shalt have the monies 
For the interest of the turning it. 

Chas. Why 't is a generous bond ! There is no pound 
Of flesh exacted in't. 

Dav. { jmssionafely) But if thou dost betray it thou wilt pay 
Thy pound of forfeit. King of England! 
Deal justly with us and thou wilt have cause 
To bless the Jew and bless his bond. (Change.) 

Scene 2. — A Corridor in the house of Ben Israel. jE^/iYer 'Gabriel 
and Annetti, l. 1 e. 

Ann. Gabriel, Thou art a fool. Thou sawest a witch. 

Gab. Yerily I did, and thus it was: As I was argufying how to 
plague the Jew to 'scape the Fiend, out of revenge as I should say 
for forgetting her sex the she Fiend darted down upon me on a 
streak of lightning, which she turn'd into a dragon's tail, switch'd 
it around my neck and awa}' she flew with me. 

Ann. Well, thou simpleton, and what then? 

Gab. Why, just then she heard your voice, and got scared, and 
she dropp'd me on a rose bed, or I should have broken every bone 
in my body. 

Ann. Dost mean to say, I am so ugly as to scare a witch? 

Gab. Nay, nay that follows not. Now will I serve the Jew spite 
of the Fiend and doubly to spite that she-fiend, providing 
Annetti you will take the name of Mistress Gabriel Bramble. 
Then, being sanctified b}^ my wife's petticoats, no she-fiends will 
have a virtuous need of me. 

Ann. a bargain, — that is, if thou'lt keep thy promise to serve my 
foster-sister Rachel and her grandfather until she marries Sir Walter 
Templar. 

Gab. But I say, Annetti, who is this grandfather? 



20 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 2. 

Ann. That she knows not herself as yet, but he is to be here to- 
night at the house of this Jewish prince, and we are bid hither also 
to meet our new master. The king and Lord Hawkley are to be 
present, for Ben Israel comes with Rachel's grandfather to loan 
money to the king. Come haste we in. 

Gab. But keep me within the charm of thy petticoats, Annetti. 

Ann. Blockhead, see to that thyself. (Exeunt e. 1 e.) 

Scene 3. — A grand apartment in the house of David Ben Israel, 
haviiig the appearance of a Jewish palace gorgeouslo lighted. 
{Enter Judah and Levi, l. c.) 

Levi. So, Judah, thou hast trayel'd o'er the earth. 

JuD. My feet have touch'd the soil of every land. 

Levi. I've heard my master say thou ever wert 
Of strangest mind. 

JuD. Returning to my father's house at Frankfort, 
After a score of years of wandering, 
I learned my uncle David had not found 
Young Benjamin, his son. Train'd as the hound 
I follow' d on the tracks which David's son 
And my lost sister made when flying from 
The cruelty of Spain, and reaeh'd these shores 
Just at the time that Rachel's Jewish play, 
"The Princess of the Captivity,'' 
Was heralded abroad. 

Levi. Ay, ay! good Judah, when the watchers told 
My master David oft, it struck his mind 
As if the Angel of the Covenant had writ 
A volume in the Heavens of which he knew 
The sign and held the key. 

JiiD. And I. And knew the legend of our house. 
Thus runs the prophecy: 

"If any of our mystic line be lost, 
An angel from within or from without 

The lost shall find. 
Their magic blood unto its own shall speak: 
Though in the darkest night their mystic star shall shine." 

Levi. Ay, ay, tis wonderful! And so you read 
The secret of the child which she did set to song 
As did your uncle David? 

JuD. I did! And knew that she was one of us; 
And that, though all unconscious to herself, 
To us she told her inborn mystery. 



Act 2.] BEN ISRAEL. 21 

Levi. Judah; — good Judah ! 

JuD. Speak on. 

Levi. Nay, nay; I will wittiliold my tongue; 
For tliou shalt soon tliy uncle David see. 

JuD. I've seen my uncle David. 

Levi. And spoken to him? 

JuD. As oft as I have spoke to thee. 

Levi. Oh, oh! I see, I see! 

JuD. My uncle David should not hide from me. 

Levi. Thy uncle David hath oft said 
His nephew was a mystery few could read 
Yet was as wise as Solomon. 

JuD. Then tell him I advise him now to give 
My sister's child unto the son and heir 
Of old Lord Leon Templar. 

Levi. Nay, nay; his blood must not be mix'd; his name 
Not lost unto his tribe. Thou didst thyself 
Essay to part them yesterday. 

JuD. But not to-day. His family gives consent 
That he shall wed my sister Eachel's child. 

Levi. Now by the staff of Jacob, this will cut 
Thy uncle David to the quick. Judah, 
"We must consult the rulers of our tribe. 
See they come. 

{Enter Lords and Ladles of the court. Next Bishops of the Chureh 
of England and Babbis, loho range tneniseloes on either side, 
folloired by Sir Walter Templar, Rachel and Judah. 
Last enter King Charles with Lord Hawklev, icho eome 
to Centre. 



Haw^k. What means this gathering, your majesty 



Chas. Tis but the princely David's whim. He >«chemes 
To have the bishops of the English Church 
Partakers in the covenant of good 
Between us and the Jews. 

Hawk. But where is this David Ben Israel. 

Enter David, who goes and converses with the Jews. 

Chas. Didst see that old Jew enter last ? 
Hawk. By heaven, 'tis the peddler of the court. 
Chas. And no David ! There is a mystery here. 



22 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 2. 

Hawk. Which I will prick, {goes doion c. and hmigMUij breaks into 
the circle of church dignitaries and Rabbis, addressing the former) 

Surely, most reverend sirs, 

We are not here to be received by such 

As these, buyers of old silver — vagabonds, 

Who peddle through our streets ? {goes uj:) to Pedler, indicating him 
icith insolent disgust) 

That rusty, greasy, stinking gabardine 

Most plainly tells the swine with which we mix 

To-night. Where is Ben Israel ? He claims 

To be descendant of the royal blood 

Of Judah. If this prince be here 

Let him appear at once, or we retire. 

David comes to c. 

Dav. Most princely guests, David Ben Israel 
Gives cordial welcome to ye all. 

Chas. Thou Ben Israel? 

Dav. Thus am I known among my tribe — this " herd " 
Of Jacob. 

Hawk. Oh fool, that I have been ! 

Dav. Nay, 't was this stinking gabardine that did > 
Offend thy perfumed nose. It smelt of swine. 
Good Levi, take it, if it has a smell 
Of swine, then bury it till it be sweet 

As spices of Arabia. T is but (throws off gabardine and gives it 
to Levi, discovering a ])rincely Jewish costume^ a massive gold chain 
about his neck.') 
Our outside skin and much offendeth. 

Hawk. Ah ! This is your revenge, old man, on me. 
I will be even with you yet, dog of a Jew. {Attempts to leave, hut is 
interrupted by David, v:ho majestically waves him back.) 

Dav. Stay, my Lord of Hawkley ! 
I hold some bonds of thine which if pressed home 
For settlement would send thee through the world 
A beggar lord. They fell due yesterraorn. 
Leave my poor dwelling thus, to-morrow I 
The settlement will press. The other day 
Thou spurn'dst Ben Israel and trampled him 
Beneath thy haughty feet and call'd him dog. 
T was then this maiden for her people stood 
As Judith might, who smote the chief 
Of proud Assyria's host. 



Act 2.] BEN ISRAEL. 2:^ 

Ben Israel thanks this lord that his outrage 

Did show him such a picture of his race, 

And in his gratitude renews the bonds. 

But if hereafter thou but touchest e'en the hem 

Of any of my people's robes, ay, though it be 

The least of all my tribe I will exact 

The recomj^ense to the last farthing's due. 

Hawk, {aside) Damnation! 

Bach, {to Walter) Oh what a change is wrought in him ! 
Now looks he, whom we knew but yesterday 
As the old pedler of the Court, as I 
Have pictured those of that grand line who reign'd 
As kings in Israel. 

Sir W. Even Lord Hawkley's pride is cowed beneath 
His native majesty, though he fain would 
Confront him with a show of scorn. 

Dav. {addressing company) I have invited you to-night to lioar 
The story of Ben Israel's chequered life. 

Chas. Thy history. 

Dav. And to give judgment on a cause that sits 
As would a mountain on the old man's heart. 

Bach, {to Walter) I shudder with forboding of I know not 
what 
Yet feel there is a fate to-night that points to us. 

Dav. E'ea like his more illustrious sires, David 
Hath dreamt the time must come when Judah's sons 
Would hear the " Comfort ye, my People " swell 
Like hallelujahs from the nations' tongues. 
Emboldened b}^ the spirit of this new-born age. 
He sent young Benjamin, his only son. 
To Spain, where for seven centuries we dwelt. 
Alas! he but returned to bear the curse anew. 
The dreaded inquisition, in its throes of death, 
Seized him — the Jew — with savage joy to find 
One victim left on whom it could expend 
Its priestly rage. Oh, Benjamin, my son, my son! 

Bach. Your stoiy lacerates my heart. The thought 
Of all our people's woes my Jewish blood 
Stirs to its depths, and, woman though I am, 
I would I had the power to avenge. 

Dav. {recovering from his emotion) So felt Ben Israel, maiden, 
once, when like 
The cedar of famed Lebanon, 
He tower'd among his people in his strength ; 
But, child, long suffering hath chastened him. 



24 BEN ISKAEL. Act 2.] 

Each. Good, princely heart, Oh, how I honor thee! 

Day. Sire, my children, terror-stricken, fled from Spain, 
And Kachel in her insane love and fear. 
Hid Benjamin e'en from his father's search. 

Chas. But found you not your children, princely Jew ? 

Day. Nay, sire, they sleep together side by side. 
Yet hath the God of Jacob blessed my search. 
Maiden, thou wear'st about thy neck a charm 
Placed by thy dying mother at thy birth. 

Rach. I have! 'T is here! 

Day. It is the same ! 
Lost child, come to thy grandsire's arms! 

Rach. Grandfather! O, my grandfather! 

Chas. David Ben Israel's grandchild! 

Jews. The Princess of our captivity! 

Day. Sire, no longer Rachel the singer, 
But Rachel, heiress of Ben Israel. 

Sir W. Good Heaven! Then was her opera inspired! 

Rach. O grandfather, your looks grow solemn and the lines 
Of pain furrow your brow. Oh what can come 
To cloud our world of Joy ? 

Sir W. Most reverend sir, if what the king did say 
Of my betrothal with my cousin be the cause 
Which troubles you, 'tis all removed: 
My family give consent that I shall wed 
Her whom I loved ere any of her kin 
Knew of her birth. 

Day. Judah hath told me all. 'Tis this which makes 
The mountain of my grief. 

Sir W. Rachel, what does this mean? 

Each. Grandfather what does this forbode ? 

Day. (to Walter) A greater barrier hath come between 
Thee and this maid. 

Rach. Oh! no, no! 
Say not so. 'T is not possible there now 
Can rise a barrier between our loves. 

Day. I've said it, child. At first 't was but a covenant 
Which they who made it could revoke e'en with a breath 

Rach. Oh! sir, if two great families of this proud 
Old land, forgetting her despised descent, 
Open their arms to take the Jewess home 
To their warm hearts, what can arise to part us now ? 



Act 2.] BEN ISRAEL. 25 

Day. a hundred generations of thy dead! 
If this young noble's family have forgot 
The branded brow we've worn down through the past, 
When all lands were as Hades to our race; 
If the}^ forget our banned origin, 
Thy grandfather does not; nor does he, child, 
Forget thy ancestors were princes. 
And did reign as kings in Israel, 
Ere his proud family had a name on earth. 
Those hundred generations, child, through me, 
Last of our sacred royal line, declare 
The Christian and the Jewess must not mate ! 

Each. O Walter, now I comprehend it all. 
These generations of my dead rise up 
Before me even here as from the dead. 
Their deep solemnity appalls my sense. 

Day. Daughter of Ben Israel, 
I do conjure thee bow to their dread will! 

Each. The curse! The curse! 'T has fallen on my head; 
And 't was thy lips that did pronounce this doom. 

Day. It is their will, not mine. It must be done! 

Each. Oh, grandfather, when you did say that we 
Must be divorced, it was the curse to me. 

SiE W. And to me. 

Dav. Divorced? 

Each. Yes, yes. I said divorced, for love hath made 
Us mates. Once did I save his life and nursed 
Him through a fever when his soul was wing'd 
To take departure on his dying breath 
Which scarce did dim the glass. I wooed his soul 
As by a magic touch and drew it back to earth. 
Then, woman-like, I loved the life I saved. 
And garnered that dear life in mine ! 
Grandfather, he is mine. Take him not from me; 
Make not all my future one dark blank — 
Blank now, — blank in the great hereafter! (fh rowing herself at 

David's feet) 
Oh, bless our union! O, my grandsire, bless! 
Give us thy blessing, see, I kneel for it. 

Dav. (bowed with grief ) Eachel! Eachel! 

Each. Eevoke this doom of separation, 
'Tis more than I can bear! 'Tis you that speak 



26 BEN ISRAEL. [Act. 2. 

For all our dead — you who stand over me 

In solemn grief bowed to the earth. 

O, let it be your blessing, and revoke this curse. 

Dav. ( Turning and pointing Rachel to the Bishops and Rabbis. 
Rachel quickly rises and turns imploringly to them.) 
See, child, I have gathered these to judge 
For us. Speak, holy men. There stands the last 
Of all our royal house. If she now weds 
The Christian knight then David's name will die 
For ever out of Israel. Speak ye, now, 
Judges of our people; and speak ye, 
The judges of the Gentiles; have not I 
Pronounced your fiat when I do declare 
The Jewess and the Christian must not mate ? 

Rabbis AND Bishops. You have! (Rachel staggers hut is caught hy 
Walter.) 

Sir W. Old man, you've struck her to the heart. 

Dav. Peace, boy! Think you mine is not stricken too ? 

Rach. (reviving) You've heard the judgment Walter! They 
have said 
We are divorced. I go — I go. 

Dav. Rachel, Rachel, where goest thou? 

Rach. (Turning upon him passionately.) Out — out! old man, 
bearing the curse your lips 
And theirs pronounced. 

He was as father, mother, race and faith to me; 
And ye have taken him from me. 
I do accept the judgment 

Thus most awfully pronounced upon my head. 
Follow me not! Hinder me not! 
The doom'd are sacred as the bless'd! 
I go — I go, bearing through the earth my curse. 
I go!— I go! 

Dav. Rachel! Rachel! (Picture.) 

END OP ACT 11. 



Act 3.] BEN ISEAEL. 27 



ACT III. 

Scene 1. — The Jewish Quarter in London. A view of the >^treet. 
Exterior of Ben IsraeVs house. 

Enter Levi and Kebecca, his wife. 

Lev. By our sacred tribe, I would that Israel 
Had left his bones in antique Babylon, 
Ere thus our sons and daughters should 
Be damned by Gentile mixing. 

Reb. But Rachel loves the Christian. 

Lev. And I do hate the Christian. 

Reb. Levi, thou art wrong. 

Lev. What, wrong to pay my debts ? 

Reb. The child would die without the Christian's love. 

Lev. Bah! Why should she die? Hath she not found 
Her people ? 

Reb. And lost her love ! 

Lev. 'T is like ye all. Name love to a woman, 
And she will sell her soul to please 
Her fancy. Beguile a woman's ear with love, 
And she w^ill sell her people and betray 
Her people's God. 

Reb. But chance, yea fate almost, good Levi, made 
Our Rachel Christian. Her Jewish mother dying — 
Her Christian foster-mother in her love, 
Baptized the child. 

Lev. Thou stick' st a dagger in my heart! 
Would she had laid our Rachel in her grave 
Ere baptized her unto the Nazarine. 

Enter Annetti as he is speaking. 

Ann. Thou art a brute for saying so. 

Lev. Bah ! Thou art a hussy and knowest not 
The weight of this grave matter. But thy mother did 
With lavish kindness rear the child; 
So thou may'st say e'en as it pleaseth thee. 

Enter Gabriel, with ribbons in his coat as for a weddim] dat/. 

Gab. Hurrah! {business) 

Lev. What! hath the fool the Christian's legion in him? 



28 BEN ISKAEL. [Act 3. 

Gab. No, Levi. Two horns before churching. Two horns only 
— two horns of good old English twenty-one, or I'm a Jew. 

Lev. Get thee to the Christian's quarter, knave. 
Thou hast no business here. 

Gab. Choke down thy choler for I bring thee news. 
Eachel is coming home to-day. 

Lev. There's money for thy news. 

Gab. (Testing It on the pavement) By a Christian's conscience, it 
hath kingly tone. Jew, thou art a Christian — a golden Christian — 
a right well begotten Christian. 

Lev. Let me pass. {Leaves in disgust and goes into Ben Israel's 
house.) 

Gab. Gold, Annetti, gold. 

Ann. The wedding ring? Let me see it. 

Gab. No a Charlie; but a golden one. 

Ann. That for your Charlie ! I thought it was the ring. 

Gab. But think of golden gifts from a Jew. My master shall 
marry the Jewess. 

Reb. Yea, Rachel shall marry the Christian. Father Abraham 
forgive me for saying so. But my master David cannot live with- 
out his grandchild. 

Ann. Nor Rachel without her mate. 

Reb. Here come our maidens forth with songs to greet her. 

Hebrew Men and Maidens come out of Ben Israelis house, singing. 

SONG. 

Maidens, tune our golden harps 

And sing as in days of yore ; 
Young men, make merry in a stranger land, 

And mourn for our homes no more. 

Chorus : All lands be our home, make merry ! 

We'll roam no more from this welcome shore ! 
All lands be our home — make merry ! 

Maidens, strike a joyful strain. 

And bring in our jubilee ; 
Young men, make merry in a native laud, 

For this shall our birthplace be. 

Chorus : All lands be our home — etc 



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Act 3.] BEN ISRAEL. 29 

Enter Rachel and David, followed by Sir Walter, Judah, 
Charles, Hawkley, and the Templar Men. Last Old 
Meg enters. 

Day. Be this thy native land, O Israel ! 

Chas. Gad's death ! well said, David. 

Hebrews. A jubilee! a jubilee! 

Bach. Yes, thanks to him ( Walter) and to the king. 

Dav. Men of my tribe ! One year ago to-day 
You did confirm Ben Israel's judgment 
That Bachel and the Christian must not mate. 
Out from our presence went the maid, bearing 
The curse which we pronounced. 

Bach. But he did turn it into joy. {indicating Walter.) 
O, men of Judah! There stands one who since 
That night hath stormed the British Parliament 
"With glorious eloquence upon the cause 
Of our long sufiering people. 
Ah ! was not this a grand revenge ? 
For he went out with me bearing the curse 
Of hates, which to our race hath brought ages of woe. 

Sir W. Bevenge? And for your priceless love 
Which hath ennobled me ? But you are right. 
The curse did fall on me as well. 'Twas then 
I felt the burden of your people's wrongs. 
'T was then I swore in my despair 
That never should my voice be hushed. 
Until the Jew with Christian ranked as equal. 

Dav. Young man, ingratitude is not my people's sin. 
We love not, for we have not been loved, — 
Trust not, because we have not been trusted! 
But thou shaltfind the Jew is just: 
That he will pay his debt where love is due 
With more exactness than his debts of hate. 
Be this my bond of love and witness of my word: {Taking RacheVs 

hand and giving it to Sir Walter.) 
Take her ! Ben Israel revokes the curse! 
Let all pronounce on them the blessings of our fathers ! 

Chas. Ben Israel, knowing thee I wonder not. 
Thy race hath been the sampler of a world. 

Dav. Didst know the Jew, my king, as he shall yet 
Be known, thou shouldst confess my pattern is but poor. 
My people's sampler, sire, is their Fidelity ! 



30 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 3. 

Sir W. Sliame on us Cliristians— shame ! for we have made 
That grand fidelity thy people's curse. 

Day. Sir Walter, bid thy uncle Courtney meet 
Me and my grandchild here to-night. My gold 
Shall free thy kinsman's lands of debt, Kachel 
Shall give the cancelled deed as dower to her 
Who did release thee from thy family covenant 
To wed thy Hebrew love. 

Rach. Thus love redeems us from the curse of hates. 

Meg. {as they are going off) Not if my hate wins! {Close in.) 

Scene 2. — Exterior of the King's Arms Inn. Gabriel and Annettl 
come out of the Inn. 

Gab. Now if logic be logic, and blessing be blessing, and mar- 
riage goeth not in crooked paths, to trip true love up, then cometh 
we out of Dad Bramble's house with the blessing of our posterity 
on our heads. 

Ann. Fie! Gabriel. Never mind about the posterity. 

Gab. Ah! But I do mind the posterity Annetti. What would 
you have me a half -begotten father — an unnatural ancestor that 
ioveth not his offspring ? 

Ann. Keep thy mouth silent, blockhead, there is no offspring. 

Gab. Verily there will be or I understand not the rule of 
marriage. 

Ann. Do you understand that, saucebox ? {stops his month) 

Gab. Thou hast stopped the mouth of the lambs and I will stop 
the mouth of their dam. {kisses he?') 

Ann. Well, now, I rather like that. 

Gab. So did I. 

Old Meg rushes across their path, l. 1 e. 

Meg. Alarm! alarm! The Jews have done a murder! {exitB.. 1 e.) 
Gab. 'T is the she-fiend ! Murder! murder. 
Ann. Hold your tongue, fool, 't was only Old Meg. 
Gab. What! have I been scared by that Papist hag ? Well here 
comes her brood, who will not frighten me. 

Papists rush in. 

Pap. The Jews have done a murder. Murder and the Jews! 

Gab. {pitching into them) Murder and the Papists! Hurrah for 
the Jews! Down with the Papists! {He drives them off l. 1 E., and 
is followed off by Annetti. 



Act :?.] BEN ISEAEL. 31 

Meg returns with Hawk ley. 

Hawk. It was not done too soon. 

Meg. Soon enough — soon enough, my son, to trap the Jew. 

Hawk. 'T is his crafty nephew that I fear. He knows ho\v I hate 
his tribe, and has urged old Ben Israel to foreclose the mortgage 
on my castle and estates to make a dower of them for Kachel . 

Meg. Aha! but he knew not Old Meg. We've trapped them, and 
Sir Walter Templar will be missing. But we'll do more yet — more 
yet. A storm must be raised in England against the Jew^s or they 
will rule the kingdom by their gold. So said the Holy Fathers. 

Hawk. Yes; the Jesuits hate the Jews for they want not the res- 
toration of the Catholic power in England. That plotting uncle of 
the Jewess — he who serves the arch-heretic, William of Orange, 
aims to break off Charles' alliance with Louis. 

Meg. We shall see ! we shall see ! Old Meg can plot as well as 
the best of them. Have thy witnesses prepared to testify that Sir 
Walter Templar was murdered by a band of Jews, who did out- 
number them quite two to one. Old Meg will do her part. We'll 
catch them in the trap. Curse them all — heretics and Jews. Come, 
my son, to work. [Ejceunt R. 1 e.) 

Scene 3. — The Quarter of the Jews again. Night. Ben Israel's 
House illuminated. Chorus of Men and Maidens come forth 
from the house j singing. 

SONG. 

PART SECOND. 

Virgins, light your well trimmed lamps — 

Be brides as in days of yore; 
Young men, go wooing in a stranger land. 

And sigh for your loves no more. 

Chorus : All lands be our home — make merry ! 

We'll roam no more from this welcome shore — 
All lands be our home — make merry ! 

Virgins, forth to meet the groom — 

Return with our jubilee ! 
Young men, be wedding in a native laud, 

For this shall our birthplace be. 

Chorus : All lands be our home — etc. {Exeunt Chorus down 
the Jew Quarter.) 



S2 BEN ISKAEL. [Act. 3. 

Enter Hawkley and Meg, r. 1 e. 
Hawk. There must not be half work to-night. 
Meg. There shall not be, my son. 

Hawk. Destroy the Jewish Quarter and we save 
My castle, Meg. Burn down this house to night, 
And, in the morn, the old Jew's mortgages. 
Will be but tinder for the match to fire 
The den of every Jew in London. 

Meg. There's many a spendthrift lord will thank us for the 
work. 

Hawk. Before a month the frightened tribe will fly 
From England's shores again. 
But canst depend on Gabriel ? 

Meg. Ay. I have cozened his dull wits. He thinks 
His master murdered by the Jews, and like 
A maniac cries through the streets, the Jews! 
Revenge ! The Devil and the Jews ! 
I must away to lend him aid. [Exeunt r. 2 e.) 

Enter David with Levi, d. c, from the Jewish Quarter. 

Lev. Trust not the Christian's love, my master. 'Tis 
A snare. The curses of our wrongs alight on them. 

Dav. Nay, Levi, curse them not. 

Lev. Have they not been a blight upon thy life ? 

Dav. It is the heritage of all our race to suffer wrongs. 

Lev. Hark! What cries were those? {cries heard) 
In, in my master, for some bloody work 
Is near our quarter. 

Dav. Nay, nay, good Levi. 'Tis the young men's shouts, 
Who with their lord have come to celebrate 
His marriage with my child. 

Lev. I trust not the Christian's love. 

Dav. Ha! our people do illuminate. 

Lev. Those cries again! 

Dav. Were shouts of joy, good Levi. 

Lev. I'd rather feast upon the Christian's hate 
Than sup his love. 

* Dav. In Levi now, and bid my household forth 
To welcome those who come in love to us. 

Lev. Then hath their love strange tongues. 
The curse of all our tribe alight on them, {enter house) 



Act 3.] BEN ISRAEL. • :« 

Dav. (lisfemng to the cries) Methinks as they come near those 
shouts do seem 
More like anathemas which have so oft 
Rung in my ears in other lands. 
Levi ! 

Lev. {from within) In, in my master! 

Dav. "When priests have raised the cry against the JeW; 
The multitude have caught it up in rage — 
Then hunting us like hounds in every street, 
Have driven us as sheej) to slaughter, 

And our homes have sacked, {multitude now heard ratjimj nearhy) 
Levi! Ho, Levi! (he comes from house) 
See what this tumult means, {exit Levi) 

A Cry {without) Murder! Murder! 

Dav. The God of Jacob be our refuge then. 

Enter Judah. 

Dav. Judah, what means it? 

JuD. As yet I cannot fully comprehend, 
Sir Walter's tenantry come raging through 
The streets crying. Revenge upon the Jews! 
We'll drive the Jews from England. 

Dav. Now, by the God of Jacob, 't is most fit 
They thus repay my kind intents. 
"What have I done of wrong ? I had redeem'd 
Their lands from him who hath supplanted them. 

Enter Charles. 

Chas. Fly, Dawl fly! I'll aid you to escape. 
My guards disperse the mob who were 
By thousands gathering round your house. 

Dav. Fly? "Wherefore should I fly ? The guilty fly, 
And not the innocent, when they have nerve 
To meet the consequence of others deeds, 
And ask as I do now — "What have I done ? 
What is the wrong whereof I am accused ? 

Enter Hawkley followed by Meg. 

Hawk. The murder of Sir Walter Templar ! 
Rack, {coming forth from house) Murdered! Walter murdered ? 
No, no! It cannot be! It is not ! 
Meg. It is, thou Jemsh witch! 
Jdd. Hawkley this is foul play. 
Meg. Ha! Thine, wizzard, and thy Jews. 



34 



BE:^T ISEAEL. Act .3] 



Each. The storm hath burst and on thy aged head 
The thunderbolt alights! 
Would it had stricken mine alone, not thine! 

Day. Alas, the woe! Ever the woe! 

Hawk. Your Majesty, I cannot quell the mob. 
The Templar men demand Ben Israel 
To answer for the murder of their lord. 

RcH. Said'st murdered by the Jews? 
My grandsire's hand bathed in the blood 
Of him I loved ? Look at that grand old man 
In grief for us, oblivious of himself: 
Sits guilt enthroned there ? Or is it not 
The picture of a man who fain would bear 
The burden of the woes of those he loved ? 

Chas. It is. David you answer not. 

Dav. What shall I answer ? I have been as dumb, 
For 1 did find no matter for my speech, 
Except, Charles Stuart, matter not mine own, 
And shadows of dark deeds of others born. 
I will not further speak till I have heard 
The circumstances of the charge. 

Chas. David, 'tis said, you set men of your tribe 
To murder Templar. That your fair pretence, 
To w^ed him to this maid, was but to break 
Her to your will. Widow'd ere wed 't would be 
In vain for her to hold against your fixed 
Intent, that she should marry with a Jew. 

Dav. Now grows the damned lie into rank form 
And dangerous circumstance. Gro on! I list. 
I see there's more to come against the Jew. 

Chas. Your plot was overheard. 

Dav. Oh! damned lie again. Go on! 

Chas. You went abroad to-day. 

Dav. Ay to my kinsman, Levi's, where I should 
Have met Sir W^ alter with the monies. 
But he came not. 

Chas. He came but went not out. To hide the crime 
They say you set on fire old Levi's house, 
Which is in ashes now. 

Dav. My kinsman's house ! Who saw this deed ? 

Meg. I, Jew. Old Levi and thyself did it. 

Rach. O Walter, Walter! Thus the fowler hath 
Ensnared us all. 



Act 3.] BEN ISRAEL. 35 

Day. Here stand I then, as stands the stricken oak, 
By hghtning singed from crown to root, 
Whose railings 'gainst the stroke of fate. 
Would shame its sorrow, which should have no speech. 
Its blasted majesty, which doth outlive 
Its life, shall better speak for it than words. 
And justice shall be done it, e'en in death! 
Come Kachel ! {He is going off to give himself up) 

Chas. David, what would ye ? 

Dav. I go to meet my chains ! 

Rach. Stay grandfather. This is conspiracy. (Ife gently resists 
her, but she holds him back) 
Nay / will out and meet the Templar men alone. 
They dare not touch her w^hom their master loved. 
I will proclaim the truth to them. 
Walter is not murdered ! 

Omnes. Not murdered! 

Rach. I have the proof here in myself! 
I have received no learning of his death ! 
Perchance he is in bonds, while we are bowed 
Beneath this stroke, — ay, victims all of deep 
Black hearted men. But Walter is not dead ! 

Hawk. Not dead! 

RcH. {to Hawkley) Beware! 
I see the shadows traced by thy base hand. 
But deeds of darkness w^rought 
Shall on the housetop be proclaimed. {Exit Bachel with 

Annetti.) 

Dav. I'll follow her. What matters it for me ? 
If they do thirst for Hebrew blood. 
They shall have mine! {Exit David.) 

(Hawkley and Meg steal off) 

Chas. Judah, you should have followed him. 

JuD. It w^ould ofiend his princely mood. 
He is most sensative. When braving wrath 
To shield his race I've seen him awe a multitude. 

Chas If 't is a plot against the Jews, my brother James 
Is head and front of it. {he looks off) 
'S death ! They drive thy people like a flock of sheep. 

Mob. {icithout.) Death to the Jews! 

JuD. {drawing his sword) Then be it hate for hate and blood for 
blood! {Exit Judah, followed by the King.) 



36 BEN ISRAEL. [Act 3. 

(^Enter Levi wounded.) 

Lev. The Christians steel hath stricken home. 
My dying curse alight on them! 
Where is my master David V 
The Gentile hath betrayed him. 
My dying curse — {dies,) 

Enter Hebrews, men, women and children in flight. Bex Iseael 
staggers after them with blood on his brow.) 

Day. {speaking to the mob without as he enters) Smite David yet 
again, but spare his people ! {turning^ to the Kebreirit who are 
gathered around Levi) 
I am not what I once had been 
Li thy defence O, Jacob! 

Eeb. Levi is slain! 

Dav. Levi slain ? Then hath the evil day returned. / 

Reb. Woe to our people ! 

Dav. {lamenting orer Levi) Levi! Levi! 
{Enter Charles.) 

Chas. David art wounded deep ? 

Dav. {awakened from his lament and passionateJy) Ay in the stab 
that reached old Levi's heart. 
Wounds ? What have I wounds ? I felt them not. 
Ben Israel's wound is in his people's wrongs. 
{touchi7ig his brow) This had been naught though cloven to the 

chin 
Had they been spared. 

Chas. Give but some proof of innocence and I 
Will side with thee Ben Israel. 

Dav. What Jewish innocence ? 
To Christian judgment 'twould be damning guilt! 
What would it weigh though I did heap 
Volumes of protests 'gainst this charge ? 
Am I not forejudged and foredoom'd? 

Chas. By Heaven no! You do wrong us there! 

Dav. By Heaven yes! And I do wrong ye not. 
What can I bring except the murdered man 
Alive to prove I killed him not ? That were 
Not possible if he be dead. If not then is this charge 
Conspiracy against the Jew, such as 
Our people oft have borne, that Christian nobles, — 
Ay and Christian kings, might spoil our substance 
And ourselves drive out to other lands, 
To give them quitance of our bonds. 



Act 3.] BEN ISRAEL. 37 

Chas. I say by Heaven you wrong us, Jew! 

Day. And I by Heaven I wrong ye not, O king! 
{Enter Rachel passionately beating back tJie Templar men who are 
headed by GabribIj and with Meg urging them on.) 

Each, Back! Back! Touch not his hallowed head. 
Lay not a linger on that sacred man 
Whose majest}^ of soul rebukes this violence! 

Meg. Hang the Jew. 

Gab. He murdered my master ! 

Rach. Back ! Back, I say ! 
Appease your wrath on me! Take her who loved 
Your master more than all your loves for him 
Though heaped in one! Vent 3^our fierce rage 
On her who had this day been bride of him 
You served, but ye shall not e'en touch 
That guiltless man: In pieces tear me first! 

Enter Hawkley. 

Hawk. Quick, your Majesty. The Jewish Quarter is on fire. 
There is but bare escape. 

Enter Judah. 
JuD. There's none, villian! From end to end the fire meets. 
Meg conies out of Ben IsraeVs house exulting. Fire seen pouring 
through windows. 

Meg. Aha! Behold, Ben Israel's house. 'Twill be their 
funeral pile. In with the Jewess witch. 

Dav. {advancing with Rachel — manner sublime.) Come what will, 
why let it come! 
Our people's trust is in the God of Israel. 

TABLEAUX. — The Jewish Quarter on fire. Hebrew peojile 
kneeling around their Prince. 

END OF ACT III. 



38 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 4. 

ACT IV. 

Scene 1. — Discovered. A Court: Lord Chief Justice 'presiding^ 
snjyported. by two assistant Judges. Near them Charles II i7i a 
chair of state for the occasion. Present: Jews and Yeomanry 
of Sir Walter Templar. Grand Trial of the Jewish Prince, 
David Ben Israel. 

Ch. J. Let the prisoner, David Ben Israel, be brought into Court. 

Enter David, in the costume of a prince of his people. 

Chas. See, my lord, his tottering steps. This is the third day's 
ordeal. Let him be seated where he stands. (David seats himself.) 

Day. Ben Israel thanks ye for this grace. 

Ch. J. David Ben Israel, have you no witness ? 

Dav. I have, my Lord: My people's history, 
"Which in the volumed ag&> of the past 
Speaks like the awful voice of Sinai 
Of what the Jew hath been, what he hath borne. 
{rising) O, Judge, — 

When Europe was unto the world like some 
Huge rock, just blasted from its native bed, 
The Jews, the superstructure of society 
Beared for their savage masters, and did mould 
This civilization which ye have to-day. 
Our law, our geoius and our wisdom, ke23t 
And garnered through the ages down, we gave 
As oft our blood, the precious cement 
Of this fabric raised. 
Your cities and your marts of trade. 
Ay, the commerce of a world, were first the work 
Of the despised Jew. Yet when we dreamt 
To find our homes in lands we made to thrive, 
Our everlasting exodus has come. 
And massacre on massacre been crown' d — 
Till men have taken lives most dear to them 
In their despair, — mothers with offspring lept 
Into the sea, or down some horrid precipice. 
To 'scape the human monsters who pursued, , 
Less merciful than death. 
And thus have perished millions of my race : 
And all because the Jew is but the Jew ! 



Oft have I heard, e'en in my time, the cry 
Which rang the other day: "Bring out t 



the Jew!" 



Act 4.] BEN ISRAEL. 

Yet hath that self-same Jew been innocoiit as I. 

My people's case is mine; my circumstantial crime 

As theirs; so I have called them up before 

This judgment seat, my witnesses, and their 

Examples make my advocates. 

Now judge ye all, for I am but the Jew, 

Guilty or innocent, not in mine act, 

But in your finding. (David rc--<ain3} hisszat.) 

Ch. J. Ban Israel, tha Court cannot gxinsay your truths; 
Yet stands the charge of murder still direct 
Against yourself. 

Rachel enters the Cmrt amidst murmurs* 

R.VCH. Hold! Sir Walter is not de td! 

{Shouts from the Templar Msn.) 

Ch. J. The proo'", lady. 

Bach. I am the proof. There is a prophecy 
In me that Walter lives. Yea, he shall come 
To prove my words. O, I implore ye, do not pas3 
False judgment on this reverend head, 
I am a Hebrew woman, and my race 
Hath second sight. If my beloved were dead, 
Then would he come to me. I should see him — 
Hear him. He is not dead. I know he is not dead. 

Ch. J. Poor lady. 

Bach. Ha! Heard you not that voice ? 

Chas. What voice ? 

Bach. It cried, hold the judgment! 
Ben Israel is innocent! 

Chas. Her grief hath overthrown her mind. 

Bach. I am not mad, nor is this good old man 
Guilty of taking life. The spirits of my race 
Tell you, through me, that Walter is not dead. 
See, grandfather, your judges weep. The chains 
Have fallen. Sirs, give way. We'll to our home. 
Nay, nay; you shall not part us, sirs. 
If justice be not here as Heaven's own gift, 
A kingdom's ransom take for justice to the Jew! 
My lords, pronounce! Is noli Ben Israel free? 

Ch. J. Bear her from the Court. 



40 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 4. 

Rach. (brealiing from the officers and throwing herself at the foot of 
the judgment seat) Here will I kneel for justice till the doom 
be past! 
Nay touch me not! Go on, my lord ! 

Ch. J. Gentlemen of the jury, is the prisoner guilty or not guilty I 

FoEEMAN. Guilty, my lord! (David rising) 

Ch. J. David Ben Israel, the penalty is death. You will be taken 
back from whence you came, and thence to the place of execution; 
and may God have mercy on your soul. 

Dav. Art thou a Daniel, that thou judgest thus? 
Thou prayest to Him for mercy, but 3'ourself 
There in the judgment seat no mercy give. 
We pray'd for justice, but ye gave it not. 
Why mock ye us with mercy which we ask 
Not for ? The Jew is at the bar for justice! 
Will ye give us justice ? {silence in the court.) 
Thy silence is most potent answer. 
Take back thy prayer for mercy 
O, thou unjust judge. I will myself appeal 
To Heaven, but ask for justice ! Justice ! {picture) 



Scene 2. — A Jewish street. Enter Hebrew families dnven before 
Lord Hawkley and his soldiers. 

Hawk, {to his soldiers) Scour up the tribe from every den. {exeunt 
soldiers) 
Get ye gone from England murderous tribe. 
* Tis the king's orders that the Jews forthwith 
Be banished from our realm. 

Reb. {to her people) Woe, woe to Israel! 
Old Levi slain, and David, our good prince, 
Under the doom. Woe, woe to Israel! 
We are banished and David goes not hence 
With us. Woe to our people ! 
[to Hawkley) Kill us but drive us not again from England. 

* Hawk. Begone ! Take nothing but yourselves. 
Your goods are confiscated to the crown. 
Away ! or soon the mob shall be let loose 
To hound ye out of London. 

Enter Rachel, with majesty. 

Rach. Stay, men of Judah, stay! 
Your Prince is captive; but his grandchild lives 



Act 4.] 3EN ISRAEL. 41 

To lead you: True but a woman in the stead 

Of him who was as our great ancestor 

In Judah's cause. Yet is the magic blood 

Pure in these reins, and in me wakes 

The spirit of my sires. 

David's daughter leads ye now, 

O, men of Israeli 

Hawk. Then lead them hence. 

Each. The Jews shall not quit England's shores. 
False lord, I tell thee that our people shall abide 
Forever here in England. 

Hawk. It is the king's commands th^it they 
Be banished from our realm. 

Rack. It is a lying, traitor's tongue that says it. 
Beware, my lord of Hawkley. 

Hawk. Insolent outcast! 

Rack. I tell thee still, thy deeds shall soon 
Be published on the housetop. Ah ! ' twas thou 
Who didst old Levi kill — and thou who didst 
Entrap the missing man. 

Hawk. Who told thee so ? 

Each. The dead ! 

Hawk. Ha! Ha! Let them jab on, thou Jewish witch; 
But have a care, or thou wilt burn 
At Smithfield yet, for talking to the dead. 

Each. I see a gibbet bleached on Tyburn Hill. 
'T is thine, Lord Hawkley. 

Hawk. Thou hast dealings with the Evil One. 
Enter Charles. 

Chas. What means this, my lord of Hawkley? 

Each. The Jews are banished, sire. 

Chas. By whose orders? 

Each. The king's. 

Chas. Hawkley thou art a villain. Look well to thy neck. 

Hawk. Shall I say this unto the Duke of York? 

Each. Ah, look well to thy neck! 
I see the gibbet still. 'T is thine. 

Hawk. Devil! {exit) 
Chas. Ay, there he has me! My brother James I 
What brings you to the Quarter, Rachel ? 



42 BEN ISRAEL. [Act 4. 

Racf. Some unseen hand. 
I knew that danger threatened these, 
And left my "frandsire, in this dreadful hour, 
But at his bidding, for he loves his people 
More than his own life. 

Chas. By Heaven! Richel, I would thou wert my queen. 

Rach. O, spf ak not thus my king. 

Chas. Forgive me, Rachel, for I reverence thee 
Too much for wrong. 

Rach. Then speak of justice to my grandfather; 

Proclaim his innocence ! 

» 

Chas. At most, Rachel, I could but pardon him. 
'S deoth my brother James will hinder me. 
And yet — Rachel, he shall be saved ! 

Rack. The blessings of our people follow thee! 
{to the ITe'jrews) Justice, men of Judah! David, your prince, 
Is granted justice, for the king hath pledged 
His word. I go to bid them open wide 

Ben Israel's prison doors! (shouts of Joy from the Hebrews. Exit 
Rachkl, i^.) 

Chas. Nay, I must open David's prison doors, 
Despite the law, — despite my brother Jam 33 ! (exit Charles jl.. 

Disperse Hebrews R. Change.) 



Scenes. — A condemned czll. David discovered seated on a stool 
by a rude table. 

Dav! It doth repent me that I sent the maid, 
Lf»st danger lurk about her path. 
Yet is she fearless as the lioness. 
How fare's it with our people? 
Would Rachel had returned. 
Ha! footsteps. 'T is she! {rises eagerly to meet her.) 

E.iter Charles. 

Dav. The king! 

Chas. Ay, and from the Jewish Quarter. 

Dav. My heart is lodged there. Sire, what news? 
Keep me not on the torture of suspense. 
How is it with them ? 



Act 4.] BEN ISRAEL. i3 

Chas. I saw the soldiers driving them before 
Their pikes. 

Dvv. Damned be those pikes, and withered be the arms 
That bore them. 

Had I been there, with but the trusted blade 
That saved the life of Maurice of Nassau, 
Old as I am, they should have spikad 
Me to the earth, ere touched my people. 

Chas. One came, David, to their rescue. 

Da v. Thyself! thyself! 

Chaf. Rachel. 

Dav. My granddaughter ? Brave girl! brave girl! 

Chvs. a queen, by my halidom. 

Dav. Our people will not lack a leader, sire; 
Yet had I hoped to see her sons. 

Chas. You shall. 

Dav. Ah! 

Chas. David, I am here to set you free. 

Dav. What mean you, sire^? 

Chas. Near by are those who soon shall bear 
You far away from danger. 

Dav. {Rccove 'Ing from his momentary eagerness and with proud 
integritij.) If my delivt ranee hath come in such 
A form that Davd might with honor own 
Then will I forth to light of all men's eyes, 
Acquitted of this charge. If I dare meet 
The INlajesty of Heaven as face to face 
Amid the multitude, not shrinking from 
The blessed sun; if I may stand before 
The upright man and hear his tongue pronounce 
The Jew worthy of life, then will I forth: 
But if to shun the eye of man or hide 
For fear my stealthy steps should whispers make, 
And lest the cry go up to heaven, the Jew 
Is out to-day ! —the Jew's abroad to-night ! 
Beware the murderous Jew! Then will I bide 
Within my gloomy cell, till death shall end 
The chapter of my woes! 

Chas. Odd's iish! You shall to-night set sail for Holland. 



u 



BEN ISEAEL. [Act 4- 



JuD. (entering eagerly) Uncle, be guided by tbe king. 
I will this villainy unfold, but time 
Is now our need. I am a Jew, 
Ay, to the very core, but of that stuff 
That can return a hate and execute 
A debt of hate. 

Chas. Quick, David, fly. The door is open. See! 
You are free! 

Day. Then be it open till my hour of doom. 
There need no locks or bolts to keep 
Ben Israel in his dungeon walls. 
His honor bars the door ! 

Chas. Odd's fish! man, fly to Holland 
fill the happier time. We did as much ourself. 

Day. What, fly dishonored ? Fly beneath the ban 
Of murder? Have it said it was my gold 
That turn'd the locks to let me out? 
I will not so, O, king! 

I can the scaffold mount, but not bring shame 
Upon our sacred name by flight. 
Charles, I would not for thy crown 
Be tempted to thy kind intent. 

Chas. By heaven, old man, thou shalt. 
Thy death would haunt us in our merriest mood. 

Rachel enters, exhausted and bewildered. 

Rach. They'll not open his prison doors ! 

Dav. You see that child, worn down with grief 
And watching by my side. 

Each. (Unconscious of their presence) The king hath deceived me. 

Dav. I thank thee, sire, that they did leave her here 
To comfort me. 

Bach. They'll not unbar his doors! 

Dav. She shall decide for me. 
Rachel! Rachel! Child! Arouse thee, child! 

Rach. Grandfather, I am here. 
The king ? He hath betrayed us. 
Is the dread hour come ? 

Dav. Nay, Rachel, his majesty doth offer life 
And freedom. 

Rach. Oh, most gracious prince! (Beturning aninuition.) 

Dav. Shall we take the offered boon? 
Hold, child ! there is a price. 



Act 5.] BEN ISRAEL. 4$ 

Rach. a price ? Then it is not a boon. 
What is the price ? 

Dav. Nought of wrong to thee, but ill to me, 
If kind intent should be pronounced an ill, 
The price is flight. 

Rach. Flight? 

Dav. Answer for me, Rachel. 
Shall it be dishonor, 
Or shall it be death ? 

Rach. Death! death! a thousand times! 
Death to us all ; but not dishonor ! 

Dav. Sire, thou art answered. 
Death, but not dishonor. {Picture.) 



END OF ACT IV. 



ACT V. 

Scene 1. — The Dungeon of Hawkley Castle. Sir Walter Tem- 
plar discovered, lying on straw, chained to the floor. 

Sir W. Oh ! how I ache with these rude stones. 
Where am I ? God ! it seems a thousand years 
Since I beheld the lioht of day. 
My senses have almost deserted me. 
The king! ah, the king! O, heaven, the thought 
Of Rachel in his wanton power drives me 
To madness, (pause) Ah, the king! (springs to his feet) 
A moment since I fancied we were gripped 
In deadly strife. O, for an hour's sanity 
To clear my path to freedom ! I have ground 
My chains asunder with these stones. 
One mighty effort more for liberty. 
They break ! I'm free ! I hear the iron doors 
Unlock and wake the dungeon echoes. Yes; 
My jailor comes ! (lies doion as before.) 



46 BEN ISRAEL. [Act 5. 

Enter Hawkley, masked. 

Hawk. Madman, art tamed ? 
Sir W. Tell the kin.s^, thy master, no ! 
Hawk. Ha! ha! the king? 

Sir W. I'll rouse all England 'gainst the libertine, 
As England once was roused against his tyrant sire. 

Hawk. 'T will be amongst A-lgerian slaves. 
Within a week you sail for Algiers. 

Sir W. For Algiers! 

Hawk. To be sold for a slave. 

Sir W. a slave! {ha^f rising.) 

Hawk. Ben Israel wdll be hung to-da;-. 

Sir W. Ben Israel hung to-day ! 

Hawk. For murdering Sir Walter Templar. 

Sir W. My murder! I will avenge Ben Israel. {He springs to 
his fiiet in terrible lorath. ) 

Hawk. Damnation! his chains broken? 

Sir W. Pray; for thy hour hath come, or I would send 
Thee to the king to tell him that I go 
To William, Prince of Orange. 

Hawk. You wrong our good king, on my souL 

Sir W. On my soul, then, I will right him 
With William and an army! 
Down, dog, and pray! 

Hawk. Help! help! (Sir Wa"LTer advances ^ brandishing his 
chains. Hawkley's mask falls off. 

Sir W. Hawkley, as I did think. On thy knees, villain. 
Then will I teach thee first to crawl 

Before I kill thee. {He grapples with Hawkley and forces him to 
his knees.) 

Hawk. Help! Meg, helj)! (Meg steals in behindj with a hunch of 
large dungeon keys in her hand.) 
Help! Meg, help! 

Sir W {raising his chains). Thus do I avenge Ben Israel. (Meg 
smites Sir Walter on the head with the keys. He falls. 
Hawkley rises.) 



Act 5.] BEN ISRAEL. 47 

Hawk. Is he dead, Meg ? 

Meg. At least quiet, my son. Aha! 

Hawk. What is that? Men are storming my castle! {Loud hat^ 
tering heard. Shouts. The Templar Men break into the 
dungeon, led by Judah. 

Templar Men. A Templar! A Templar! 

JuD. Seize the villain. 
Sir Walter dead ! ( Tableau. ) 

Scene 2. — Outside Ben Israel's Prison. Enter Gabriel and 
Annetti. 

Gab. Oh— oh— oh— 
Ann. Thou criest like a bull, Gabriel. 
Gab. I've hung — oh — poor old — oh — Jew — 
Ann. You'll raise the street. 

Gab. Then let the street raise. Better the street should raise 
than have a guilty conscience 'bout one's neck. 

Ann. Show thy penitence then like a man. 

Gab. Annetti, show me a penitence to save a neck and I'm your 
man. 

An:^. Ben Israel is not yet hung. 

Gab. Not by an hour's length. 

Ann. If Eachel's dream be real both may be saved. 

Gab. What wits thou hast. 

Ann. Thou art the best horseman in London. Ride for thy life 
to meet the men returning from the rescue of Sir Walter. 

Gab. Now, will I put a conscience on my heels to save the Jew. 

Ann. Bring good news first and I will hug thee Gabriel. 

Gab. I'll bring it first, or thou shalt hang me too. [Exit r, 

Enter Hebrews, l. 
Reb. Rachel hath the second sight. Her mother had before her. 

Ann. Then my foster-sister saw Sir AValter in the dungeon of 
Hawkley castle. 

Reb. Thou art a Christian, but deceive us not. Did Rachel see 
him ? 



48 BEN ISRAEL. [Act 5. 

Ann. She dreamt she saw him. 

Eeb. The spirit of her race was on the maid. David, our prince, 
shall be restored. 

Hebrews. Or woe to our people. 

Keb. David shall go free. 

Heb. {shout). David, our prince. [Exeunt n. 

Scene 3. — The Prison Yard. Gallows in background. E/itei 
E.ACHEL and Charles. 

Chas. Tell me thy dream again, Rachel. 

Rach. Wrought to an agony of mind last night, 
By the apjiroaching doom, I fell into a trance. 
It was as though the hand of death was laid 
On me; for then methought my spirit left 
Its clay, and, on the other side, 
My mother greeted me. 
She took me by the hand; away we sped 
To Hawkley Castle, nor did stop 
XTntil we came unto an iron gate 
Through which we passed. 
O, sire, what think you then we saw? 

Chas. What, Rachel? 

Rach. Sir Walter Templar I 

Chas. Is this no phantasy? 

Rach. No, no ! Did'st send a troop, your majesty ? 

Chas. Of my own guards. Your uncle Judali. lends, them. 

Rach. All will be well. 

Chas. Yet come they not. 

Rach. You gave authority to storm the castle ? 

Chas. Yes, if Hawkley dared resistance to his king. 
'T is near the time ! 

Rach. I was oblivious of the time. 
Ah! that horrid spectacle! 
Why did they raise that gallows ? 

Chas. Retire, Rachel, this is no place foi- th(-e. 

Enter David u'ith the Goveiixok of the Prison, 
Rach. Grandfather! (she rushes into David's arms.) 



Act 5.1 BEN ISllAEL. 49 

Chas. {to Oovp:rnor). This scene is sacred, (they retire) 

Day. How sweet the balmy air of June whicli fans 
My fevered brow. The sluggish blood, 
Parched by the prison atmosphere, courses once more 
With promises of health. I seem to live, 
Not die, to-day. O, glorious sun! 
O, blessed air! O, thrice more blessed liberty — 
AYithout which sun and air and all the world 
Are nought — I have thee now to-day! 
(), liberty! I praise thee with exultant voice; 
Nor doth that scaffold, though it frowns against my life, 
Make thee less dear; for, if I mount it soon. 
Then shall I speed away to freedom limitless. 
Rachel, weep not. Why weepest thou that I have joy. 

Rack. Oh, my grandfather! 

Day. I feel a majesty I never felt until this hour. 
To-day I am above the king of this proud land; 
For I to-day shall meet the King of Kings, 
And join mj^ fathers who have gone before. 

Rack. They come not — they come not! 

Dav. They'll come to-morrow. 

Rach. To-morrow! O, what will their coming be to thee ? 

Dav. They will bring proof of David's innocence. 

Rach. To-morrow ! 

Dav. Thou shalt a mighty throb of joy for me 
Take to thy heart — 

Rach. To-morrow! 

Day. And know it is the throb of joy 
That I shall feel when men shall own 
That I was worthy life, yet dared to die. 

Rach. If they come not in time to save thy life, 
Let them come not at all, or come to find 
Me dead, that they may bury us together; — 
Then confess we both were worthy not to live. 
Life being all unworthy thee. 

Day. Rachel, thou art young, while I am but 
The withered oak at best. 'T is nothijig when I fall; 
To-day — to-morrow; 'tis the saiae. 

Rach. Why come they not ? 
They should have been here hours ago. 



50 - BEN ISRAEL. , [Act 5. 

Day. I scarce have left e'en the desire for life — 
Except for thee — and all is now become 
One infinite desire for thee to live, 
That David's race might not die out. 

Each. They come not! — they come not! 

Dav. (irith solemn seventy, forcing her attm^^ Rachel, I charge 

thee by our sacred blood; — 
I charge thee by our fathers' God ; 
1 charge thee by thy hope to meet me in 
The paradise to come — to live! 
(Hve me thy promise, Rachel! 

Each. Here on my knees, before our fathers' God, 
With outstretched hands to heaven, I promise thee — 
And swear by all my hopes that I will live — 
And by my hopes that I may meet thee 
In the world to come — I swear 
If they do put thee to an ignominious death, 
I will exact such recompense from those 
Who are the cause that thou shalt not have died 
In vain. My brain shall plot,' our people execute, 
Until by gold they hold the fate of nations. 
And the power to root from earth 
That church accursed! — accursed! — accursed! 
By ages of our people's wrongs! 
I swear it by the God of Israel. 

Bell tolls. Enter Governor and Chaplain for the execution. 
Rachel starts to her feet, shrieks and siooons. 

Dav. [kneeling over her). Now can I be one of earth again, — 
A moment with my soul in agony 
Of love lingering over thee, my child; 
And in that moment brought an age 
Of yearning for thee here which I shall feel 
When I am there! 

Oh ! I cannot part from thee when now the time 
Hath come to part. I am as weak as thee 
Now thou art all insensible to it. 
This death-like semblance of what I shall be 
When thou awakest child, wrings tears from eyes 
I thought had none to weep. We must part now 
While thou art thus ! 



Act 5.] BEN TSKAEL. 51 

One more embrace, and then — {raises her and kisses her.) 

Take her! take her! fori can bear no more. (A'S'S'ETTI rece/f<r 

Rachel, and Charles, entering, bears her off. 
Lead on, for I am ready ! 

Charles returns quickly^ followed by Hebrews. 

Chas. Hold! A pardon for David Ben Israel I 

Hebrews. A pardon! A pardon! 

Chas. David, in spite of James and those who hedge 
About my throne, thou shalt not die. {He is about to give the pard/.n 
to the Governor. 

Dav. Let me see it, sire. (Charles gives it to him.) 
As I did think — a pardon for the murder! 
May I do with this as it seemeth best to me ? 

Chas. 'T is yours; 'tis your life's value! 

Dav. Nay, my king, not my life's value. 
For if I did the murder, then am I 
Not worthy this; if I am guiltless, then 
Is this not worthy me ! I take thy«gift, 
My king, and thank thee with a fuller heart — 
Thus — thus — (cabnly tears it) than I could thank thee, 
Did I let this be ransom for my life ! 

Chas. By heaven! it is not worthy thee, 
Nor I to stand a king before 
Thy native majesty, (reverently uncovers.) 

Dav. What is~my life weighed 'gainst my nation's shame ? 
My people have outlived a thousand dooms ! 
Lead on! 

Rach. {rushing in). I charge ye in the name of heaven to stay! 
Ten minutes grace! Walter will be here! 
Grace! grace! Ten minutes grace! 

Chas. Stay the execution ! 'T is your kin^-'s command ! 

Rach. Saved! saved! Tbey come! they come! 
I see them coming riding like the wind ! 
Ride, Walter, Ride ! 
Hark! their shouts. Again! again! 
Walter! Walter! 

Sm W. {rushing in). Rachel! Rachel! 



52 BEN ISEAEL. [Act 5. 

Enter JuDAH and the Templar Men. Sliouts. 

Chas, This is marvelous ! 

Dav. Ay, king of England, thou shalt marvels see. 
There is a spirit in our sacred race, 
Which, fan'd, shall send a blaze o'er all the earth. 
Our seers shall rise; our psalmists sing; 
Our Solomons give wisdom to the world, 
And every land shall bless, not curse, the Jew. (Picture.) 

j CUETAIX. 



END OF BEN ISRAEL. 



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